Automatically humidified and ventilated refrigerator



Jan. 30, 1940.

H. J. BURDEN AUTOMATICALLY HUMIDIFIED AND VENTILATED REFRIGERATOR FiledSept. 8, 1936 I-l. 551E525 i awmfildiml Patented Jan. 30, 1940 UNITEDsTATEs AUTOMATICALLY HUMIDIF'IED AND VENTILATED REFRIGERATOR Henry JohnBurden, Oakville, Ontario, Canada,

assignor to Nelles Investments, Limited, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, acorporation of Ontario,

Canada Application September 8, 1936, Serial No. 99,786

10 Claims. (Cl. 62-102) My invention relates to improvements inautomatically humidified and ventilated refrigerators, and an object ofmy invention is to devise a refrigerator, particularly adapted for usein homes,

wherein means is provided for circulating the air in the refrigeratorand automatically maintaining it at the-optimum moisture content forpreserving the food which may be stored in the refrigerator.

Another object of the invention is to devise such a refrigerator inwhich two food compartments are provided, one of which may be kept at orbelow freezing temperature for storing materials that are best preservedat such a tempera- 5 ture, and the other of which is maintained at atemperature somewhat above freezing wherein materials the quality ofwhich may be impaired by freezing temperatures may be stored.

Yet another object is to devise a refrigerator in which means areprovided for washing the air contained therein in order to remove odors,carbon dioxide or products of decomposition of the stored material fromsuch air, thereby eliminating contamination of any of the storedmaterial by odors, and also extending the length of time goods may berefrigerated without impairing their freshness.

A still further object of the invention is to provide means wherebysufficient fresh air from outside the refrigerator may be circulatedtherethrough to assist in keeping the contents fresh without passingenough through the device to necessitate an excessively large coolingunit therefor.

An additional object is to provide a refrigerator in which the waterwhich has been used for humidifying and washing the air therein may'beused to cool the condenser of the cooling unit, such increased coolingserving to counterbalance the additional freezing capacity required fromthe cooling unit due to the fact that the air in the refrigerator isbeing constantly replaced and humidified.

With the above and other objects in view which will hereinafter appearas the specification proceeds, my invention consists, in a preferredembodiment, of the construction and arrangement all as hereinafter moreparticularly described and illustrated with reference to theaccompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of my improved refrigerator, showingthe two doors of the cooled compartments open and the cover of thecompartment containing the refrigerating,- humidifying and aircirculating equipment removed;

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse sectional view through the refrigeratortaken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a similar view taken along the line 33 'of Fig. 1; 5

Fig. 4 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view taken along the line4-4 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary elevational view showing the cooling unit of therefrigerator as seen from the left side of Fig. 1.

Like characters of reference designate corresponding parts in thedifferent views.

Referring to the drawing, my refrigerator may be of conventionalexternal form, having an external casing l,the cooled compartment ofwhich 15 is lined with insulation 2 and closed by an airtight insulateddoor 3, and having a refrigerant compressor 4 disposed below the casingand driven by an electric motor 5 supplied with current from the mains(not shown) through the 20 leads 6.

The cooled compartment of my refrigerator is divided by an insulatedwall 1 into two portions which I shall hereinafter refer to as the coldcompartment and the cool compartmentvrespectively. In the upper part ofthe former is disposed an orthodoxcooling coil 8 supplied withrefrigerant by the compressor 4 through the pipes 9 and such coldcompartment is provided with an insulated door ID so that when the maindoor 30 3 of the refrigerator is opened to provide access to the coolcompartment the cold compartment will still be closed against access ofthe outside air thereto.

Below the cool compartment I provide an in- 35 sulated compartment llclosed by an air-tight door l2 in which is located a tank B to holdwater for humidification, and an air duct I 4 leads from the top of suchcompartment into the lower part of the cool compartment; Across the topof 40 both the cool and the cold compartments is located an air duct l5connecting with ducts l6 disposed on either side of the cooling coil 8and opening into the cold compartment; air from the cool compartment hasaccess to the duct I5 45 through orifices I'I therein.

The air in the refrigerator may be circulated by means of a fan or pumpI8 driven by an electric motor l9, current for which is supplied fromthe leads 6 through leads 6' connected in series 50 with a conventionalcombined humidostat and thermostat 20 located in the cool compartment.The intake of the fan or pump l8-is connected through an air duct 2| tothe lower part of the coldcompartment, and the outlet of such fan is 55connected to a pipe 22 which extends through the wall of the compartmenti l and into the bottom of the tank l3. Preferably the part of such pipe22 within the tank is provided with a closed end and a number of smallorifices 23 for breaking up the air passing through the pipe into smallbubbles.

Water is supplied to the tank 43 by means of a pipe 24 passing throughthe wall of the compartment l l and connected to the mains (not shown).At apoint inside the compartment ll an orthodox air injector 25 isconnected in the pipe 24, its air intake 26 passing through theinsulation 2 and easing l and terminating outside of the casing I sothat air from outside the refrigerator may be drawn into the compartmentII by the injector as water runs through the pipe 24 into the tank l3.The latter is drained by a pipe 21 leading from the bottom of the tankthrough the wall of the compartment II and preferably adapted to deliverthe drainage water to the condenser of the refrigerator cooling unit toprovide increased cooling of the latter over that obtained with aircooling. As shown this may be effected by providing a spray tube 28 onthe free end of the pipe 21 so positioned that the spray therefromtrickles over the condenser coil 29 of the cooling unit and into a pan30 positioned below the coil 29 whence it runs off through a pipe 3|connected to the house drain (not shown).

An outlet for the air injected into the refrigerator by the injector 24may be provided, as shown by a pipe 32 passing from the rear inner wallof the cool compartment through the insulation 2 and casing I andterminating exteriorly of the refrigerator in a valve 33.

The operation of my refrigerator is as follows:

When power is supplied to the compressor motor and the fan motor l9,through the leads 6, and water is supplied to the tank [3 through thepipe 24, the door in of the cold compartment is closed after which thedoor 3 .is closed. The refrigerant flowing 'through the coil 8 thenabstracts heat from the air circulated through the cold compartment bythe fan It. Such air is drawn from the cold compartment through the duct2| by the fan, then forced through the pipe 22 out through theorificesZii in the pipe whence it bubbles up through the water in thetank 13 intothe compartment ll being substantially completely washed andhumidified thereby. From the compartment I I the air passes through theduct l4 into the cool compartment, thence through the orifices l1 intothe duct l5, over the cooling coil 8 and down through the ducts IS oneither side of the coil 8 and into the cold compartment again.

When the temperature of the cool compartment has dropped to apredetermined temperature, which will be above the freezing point andpreferably between 35 F. and 42 F., and the humidity of the circulatedair has reached a predetermined value, the combined humidostat andthermostat 20 will open the circuit of the fan motor l9, therebyarresting circulation of the air through the cooled chambers, andpreventing further lowering of the temperature in the cool compartment.It is to be understood that the rate of cooling provided by the coil 8is such that by the time the cool compartment has been cooled to thepredetermined temperature the temperature of the cold compartment willhave been lowered to the freezing .point or below. As soon as thetemperature of the cool compartment commences to rise, due to lack ofcirculation of cooled air with the fan l3 inoperative, and/or thehumidity commences to drop below the predetermined level, thecombined'humidostat and thermostat will close the circuit of the fanmotor l9 to circulate and humidity the air again through the cool andcold compartments until the desired conditions of temperature andhumidity are obtained.

It will be obvious that the water running continuously through theinjector will continuously draw fresh air from outside the refrigeratorthrough the pipe 26 and discharge it into the compartment II which is incommunication with the cooled compartments, the stale air displaced bythe fresh air being ejected through the pipe 32 and valve 33, which maybe adjusted to allow an amount of air to escape which will just balancethat injected.

It is to be understood that while the cooling coil 8 has been describedand illustrated as having refrigerant continuously circulatedtherethrough by the compressor 4 driven by the motor 5, the latter maywell be controlled by an additional thermostat in the cold compartmentwhich will cause the motor 5 to operate only as often as is necessary inorder to maintain the freezing compartment at freezing or lowertemperatures.

An advantage of my improved refrigerator is that it enables food storedtherein to be preserved for longer periods without loosing, its originalfreshness than in the orthodox refrigerator, as the humidity of the airsurrounding the food is maintained at the optimum value to preventdrying of the food, and in addition the fact that such air is beingfrequently washed prevents one type of food from being contaminated withthe exhalations of another type of food.

A further advantage isthat the airin the refrigerator is frequentlychanged, regardless of how infrequently the door of the food compartmentis opened, and yet the change of air is effected without materiallyincreasing the power consumption of the cooling unit.

A still further advantage of a refrigerator constrncted according to myinvention is that access may be had to part of,the contents of the foodstorage space without exposing the remaining contents to the warm airsurrounding the refrigerator, so that a further economy of powerconsumption is effected.

While I have described and illustrated a preferred embodiment of myinvention, I realize that there are many other ways of incorporating theprinciples of the invention in a refrigerator, and I therefore intend mydisclosure to impose no limitations on the scope of my invention otherthan those set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a refrigerator, in combination, a compartment adapted to bemaintained at or below freezing temperature, a compartment adapted to bemaintained at a temperature above freezing, cooling means disposed inthe first mentioned compartment, means for circulating air from thefirst mentioned compartment through the second mentioned compartment andback to the firstout the refrigerator into the circulated air prior tothe latter entering the compartment adapted to be maintained at atemperature above freezing, and means for exhausting the air displacedby the injected air from within the refrigerator.

3. A refrigerator comprising an insulated chamber, a partition dividingthe chamber into two compartments one of which is adapted to bemaintained at or below freezing temperature and the other of which isadapted to be maintained at a temperature above freezing, cooling meansin the first mentioned compartment, humidifying means, means forcirculating air from the first mentioned compartment through thehumidifying means and into the second mentioned compartment, an air ductfor returning the circulated air from the second mentioned compartmentto the first mentioned compartment and over the cooling means, means forcontrolling the operation of the air circulating means for maintainingthe second mentioned compartment within predetermined limits oftemperature and humidity, means for injecting air from without theinsulated chamber into the circulated air prior to the latter enteringthe second mentioned compartment and means for exhausting the airdisplaced by the injected air from within the insulated chamber.

4. A refrigerator as claimed in claim 3 wherein the air circulatingmeans comprises a fan, an air duct connecting the intake of the fan withthe first mentioned compartment, an air duct connecting the output ofthe fan with the humidifying means, an air duct connecting thehumidifying means with the second mentioned compartment, a fan operatingmotor, and a source of current therefor, the means for controlling theoperation of the air circulating means for maintaining the secondmentioned chamber within predetermined limits of temperature andhumidity comprising a combined humidostat and thermostat positioned inthe second mentioned compartment and connected between the fan operatingmotor and the source of current.

5. A refrigerator as claimed in claim 3 wherein the humidifying meanscomprises a water tank and a means for bubbling the circulated airtherethrough.

6. A refrigerator as claimed in claim 3 wherein the humidifying meanscomprises a water tank, means for bubbling the circulated airtherethrough and a pipe for supplying water to the tank, and the meansfor injecting air comprising an injector connected in the pipe andhaving its air intake disposed externally of the insulated chamber.

'7. A refrigerator comprising an insulated chamber, an insulated doortherefor, a vertical partition dividing the chamber into twocompartments one of which is adapted to be maintained at or belowfreezing temperature and the other of which is adapted to be maintainedat a temperature above freezing, a subsidiary insulated door for thefirst mentioned compartment, a cooling coil disposed in the upper partof the first mentioned compartment, a refrigerant compressor, andcondenser disposed exteriorly of the insulated chamber and connected tothe cooling coil, a fan, an air duct connecting the intake of the fanwith the lower part of the first mentioned compartment, a humidifyingchamber, an air duct connecting the humidifying chamber with the outputof the fan, an air duct connecting the humidifying chamber with thelower part of the second mentioned compartment, an air duct connectingthe upper part of the second mentioned compartment with the upper partof the first mentioned compartment and, partially surrounding thecooling coil therein, a fan operating motor, a source of currenttherefor, and a combined humidostat and thermostat positioned in thesecond mentioned compartment and connected between the fan motor and thesource of current for maintaining the humidity and temperature of thesecond mentioned compartment within predetermined limits.

8. In a refrigerator as claimed in claim 7, a water tank in thehumidifier compartment, a water supply pipe therefor and means forbubbling the air circulated by the fan through water in the tank.

9. In a refrigerator as claimed in claim 7, a water tank in thehumidifier compartment, a water supply pipe therefor, means for bubblingthe air circulated by the fan through water in the tank, an air injectorconnected in the water supply pipe and having its air intake disposedexteriorly of the insulated chamber, an adjustable air vent in the wallof the insulated chamber, a drain for the water tank, and means forsupplying water from the drain pipe to the refrigerant condenser.

10. In a refrigerator, the combination with a food compartment and acooling element therein adapted to maintain the food compartmenttemperature at below freezing, of a second food compartment, means forintermittently circulating air from the first mentioned food compartmentto the second food compartment and back to the former for maintainingthe temperature of the second compartment at above freezing, means forhumidifying the circulated air immediately prior to its entering thesecond food chamber, a combined humidostat and thermostat in the secondfood chamber for automatically controlling the operation of the aircirculating means, and means operatively connecting the humidostat andthermostat with the air circulating means.

HENRY JOHN BURDEN.

